Fix You
by Mira Spiegel
Summary: A friend of Simon's is being discredited and the crew offers to look into it. However, when tragedy is about to strike the Cobb family, Jayne takes things into his own hands. JayneOC
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Firefly and I'm not making money off this story. I just wanted to play with Joss' toys for a little while. ;-)

This is my first Firefly fan fic so please…be kind. Thank you!

**Fix You**

**Chapter One**

He knew it would happen. First time off the ship as a presumably man with a country, and something had to happen. He thought since the crew was just picking up supplies that there would be no disturbance in his newly acquired freedom. He simply should have known better.

"Phoenix."

Simon looked towards the cortex screen that was broadcasting the latest news wave and found the person to whom River was pointing. Kaylee had come with them and was smiling brightly.

"You know her, sweetie?"

River nodded her head. "She was a friend."

Simon hoped that was all River said. Since Miranda, his sister seemed to have a better grip on her mind and the connection between that and her mouth. Though she was prone to spout off some of the most embarrassing times of his childhood, Simon was relieved when she let this particular one remain unknown. He focused on the news cast and stepped up so he could hear it clearer.

"Earlier this morning, authorities were called to the Sacred Heart Medical Center, the lead medical facility in the Core. One of the surgeons there, Dr. Phoenix Watts, apparently caused a disruptive scene in the Emergency ward. She was sedated and detained in the facility where toxic screens revealed a mix of drugs in her system. Co-workers are shocked at the apparent breakdown of their lead surgeon. Dr. Watts has been relieved of her duties at the facility."

"It's not right," River murmured before turning to look at Simon. "They're lying."

"It's not our place, River. It's been a while since we last saw Phoenix. A lot can happen over the course of a few years." Simon believed his statement was very logical but judging the scrunched up look on River's face, she thought differently.

"You can always send her a wave," Kaylee suggested. "That should be able to tell ya something about the situation."

"If you don't," River leveled her gaze at him, "I will. They must not be allowed to spread more lies."

"Alright," Simon rubbed the back of his neck. "I'll send her a wave and see what she has to say."

River started to walk down the sidewalk the way they had come. "No, we'll talk to her mother. The feds won't let any waves get to her just in case."

"Just in case of what, mei mei?"

"Just in case she tells the truth," River answered. "They expect her to tell the truth to her mother but they can discredit her as seeing only good in her child and dismiss the truth."

"So how do you know this Dr. Watts," Kaylee asked.

"You know how I told you I graduated in the 3 of my class?"

"Yeah."

"Well, Phoenix graduated at the top of the class."

"She beat out Simon by four points on the final exam," River added.

"Oh, I get it," Kaylee let out a laugh. "She's smarter than you."

"She is not," Simon defended. "It was an honest mistake where I switched the definitions of two very similar diseases. It was a trick question and only two people out of the class answered correctly."

"Then there was the singing."

Simon felt the familiar urge to throw his sister on the ground and tickle her the way he used to before the Academy. That was how he had always dealt with her annoying habits back then.

"Singin'?" Kaylee giggled and grabbed his arm. "That wouldn't have anything to do with the story of you standing naked on a statue at graduation, would it?"

Simon winced. "Yes, it does. Phoenix was the one that suggested we all sing. I didn't know she had set me up. What was suppose to be a thousand voice chorus turned out to be a solo."

"I'm kinda takin' a shine to this gal."

Thankfully, Serenity came into sight in all her battered glory. It was strange how something so unattractive could hold such appeal now. It had become home to him and his sister. The crew had shattered his view of what family bonds should be and recreated them into what those bonds truly mean. He had never expected to spend his life out in the black but now he couldn't foresee himself doing anything else.

As they jogged up the gang plank, Simon heard the familiar clink of weights and realized Jayne had made it back before all them, which was highly irregular. Usually they were all waiting for him to show up before taking off.

"Hm," Kaylee whispered. "Jayne's back already. That's strange. Is it just me or are you noticin' some changes in him?"

Simon shrugged. "I haven't been paying close attention." But honestly, he had noticed some changes in the merc. He considered not only the physical well-being of the crew his responsibility but also that of their mental state. Though he had noticed subtle changes in Jayne's routine there was nothing that sent up red flags. He was still crude when the opportunity arose, argumentative with the captain and everyone else and still referred to River as "crazy."

The only real difference in his behavior was whenever they went planetside, he usually stayed close around the boat. He was the last leave and the first to come back. Simon glanced over the railing as he followed the girls out of the bay and looked down at Jayne. The man hadn't even seen them, though Simon found that hard to believe. But he better make sure he knew Kaylee, River and himself were back on board.

"Jayne?"

"What?"

The answer sounded clipped and strained so Simon took a closer look at the barbell. Was that 250 pounds? Simon searched for something to say to him but from the response it was obvious he knew they came aboard and really didn't want to be bothered.

"Uh, nothing," Simon gave him a half wave before heading up to the cockpit to try to contact Phoenix's mother.

* * *

Jayne watched the doctor give him that "I really don't know what to do now" wave before following Kaylee and River to wherever they were headed. He counted five more reps before dropping the barbell back into it's groove. He laid there and stared up at the ceiling, straining to hear where the others had gone. The doc's footsteps had long since faded and silence had returned to the cargo bay. 

He sat up and looked around the crates that blocked him from view. He didn't want anyone walking in and surprising him so he stacked some empty crates around the bench press. When he was certain he was left alone again, he pulled the letter out of his pocket and unfolded it. He had read it over and over again since everyone left. He hadn't even stepped foot off the boat this time but had stayed there and stared at his mother's steady handed print.

She had told him all about his father's fine work as a welder and how his oldest sister, Susan had just had her third child, a girl this time. His first niece. But his fingers seemed to skip through the other updates to the final line of the letter concerning his brother. He tried not to read it. He tried to convince himself that it really didn't say what he thought it did. But he knew he was wrong. He had read it right and so he read it again.

_Matty is getting worse. _


	2. Chapter 2

**Fix You**

**Chapter Two**

Her head was still throbbing from the affects of the drugs. She rubbed a hand over her face. Drugs she didn't remember taking despite the various news wavs that were being broadcasted. Every place she went, she was watching her breakdown in the emergency room of the hospital. After the shock at seeing herself ranting like a lunatic wore off, the embarrassment and anger hit her full force.

She had done everything she could to change her appearance. She had cut her hair and dyed the white-blonde curls to a garish black. Whenever she ventured outside, she wore baggy clothes and stared at the ground. She knew she couldn't stay on Osiris, not with the media and her colleagues being in the immediate vicinity. She was bringing nothing more than unwanted attention to her mother, who's social status was already slipping because of the negative press. She needed to leave but didn't know where to go. No hospital in their right mind would hire her.

"Phoenix?"

She took a steadying breath and closed the book she hadn't been reading for the last two hours. "Yes, Mom?"

"There's someone who wants to talk to you."

"Oh, Mom-"

"Trust me."

Adel Watts was a force to be reckoned with when she wanted. Phoenix should know, she inherited that stubbornness. She dropped the book loudly on the coffee table and stood up, straightening the oversized t-shirt in a failed attempt to make herself look presentable. She wondered what excuse this person gave to get them this far. There had been at least four reporters that convincingly passed themselves off as concerned colleagues just to snap a few exclusive photos. It was getting very tiresome.

"Where are they?"

"Your father's study," Adel held the door open as Phoenix stepped through. "I wish you would change first, dear. Jeans and a t-shirt are not very dignified."

"I'm not feeling very dignified right now, Mom."

"Well," Adel primly folded her hands in front her tailored dress. "I had some food and tea sent up to the library."

"I suppose we have to feed the vultures properly," Phoenix mumbled as she opened the double oak doors to her father's study. She had expected only one person but there were three. Two she immediately recognized while the third looked severely out of place in his rugged clothes. Figuring his identity would be explained, Phoenix moved towards the familiar one and extended her hand. "Simon, it's good to see you."

He clasp her hand in a firm grasp. "Phoenix. You remember, River?"

"Of course," Phoenix pulled the young woman into a friendly hug. She and River actually had study sessions together at the Academy. "You have to be, what, eighteen now?"

River nodded. "Last month, yes."

Phoenix turned back to Simon. "I followed the wavs about you two. You don't know how relieved I am to see you here safe."

"We owe most of that to this man," Simon motioned to the third person. "This is Captain Malcolm Reynolds of Serenity."

Phoenix extended her hand to him and was surprised when he actually shook it. It was a firm grip, no nonsense and honest. "Captain. Thank you for taking care of my friends then."

He gave her a lopsided grin. "It wasn't intentional. Not at first at least."

"Well, regardless, thank you." Phoenix motioned for them to sit just as one of the staff pushed a tray of tea and assorted baked goods. She gave a smile to the girl, Sarah if she was remembering correctly, before she left the room. "My mother thinks food solves everyone's problems. Our kitchen staff has been doing overtime since this mess started."

"Which brings us to the subject as to why we're all here," Captain Reynolds said.

Phoenix tried to press back a smile at all his shifting in the hard wingback chair, trying to attempt to find a comfortable position. She felt the same way in every single room in this house. Nothing was comfortable, inviting or warm. It wasn't until lately she was starting to feel that way about her own skin. "What do you want from me?"

"The truth," Simon answered simply. "About what happened."

Phoenix nodded and rubbed her forehead. "I wish I knew. I remember leaving the hospital. I left early, I had lost a patient that day. I went home and everything is a blank until I woke up in a hospital bed."

"Do you have any pieces?" River asked.

Phoenix thought she had heard the girl wrong but judging from the concerned looks on Simon's and the Captain's faces proved she hadn't misheard. She knew of the rumors surrounding an elite group of students in the Academy. That was why she had floated a large sum of money to Simon to help him make the connections to get her out. Apparently the rumors were true and she couldn't help but think there was a connection between what happened to River and what happened to her.

"Pieces, River?" Phoenix asked. "What do you mean by pieces?"

The dark headed girl replaced the tea cup to the saucer with shaky hands. "Um, not pieces," she took a deep breath, apparently trying to search for the right words. "I meant anything that's a piece to the puzzle."

"Well, in my bag I found a couple folders that contain medical charts that I have no recollection of taking. And, then there's this," Phoenix pulled up her right sleeve and showed them the yellow-purple bruises on her arm.

"Looks like someone grabbed ya," the Captain said.

Simon looked closer at the markings and nodded in agreement. "I'll have to run some tests and look over the hospital's findings, but I think I may see a puncture mark."

Reynolds shifted once again. "Puncture?"

"Needles," River answered. "Drugs."

"Great," Phoenix pulled her sleeve down again. "Grabbed and drugged. It would explain a lot. Now what?"

Reynolds stood up. "Way I figure it, staying here isn't getting ya any answers. You're more than welcome to fly with us so Simon can figure what's goin' on."

"I assume I'd have to pay for your services, Captain."

He gave that lopsided grin again. "You assume correctly."

* * *

"I think she's gonna come up that ramp in the finest clothes we've ever seen." 

"Huh."

"Remember how Simon was dressed when he came on board? All fine and sophisticated. I think she's gonna be like that."

"Yup."

Kaylee turned on the crate she was sitting on that gave her a bird's eye view of the cargo bay entrance. "You think she's gonna be wearing a suit with pants and a vest like Simon or a dress like Inara's?"

"Don't know, don't much care."

Kaylee watched the merc lifting weights. "You've been doing that a lot lately."

"So."

"You alright, Jayne?"

He threw the barbell back into the groove with a loud clang and sat up. "Fine."

"Sure?"

"Yeah."

"You've just been keepin' to yourself a lot too."

He got up and stalked out of the bay without saying anything else to her. She felt bad for him, always cornering himself off from everyone. But it had gotten worse in the last few weeks. She wondered if she voiced her concerns to the Captain if he would do anything.

She'd gotten on the Captain's case for being mean to Jayne once, saying that he often reminded her of a dog that's been kicked one too many times. The Captain had told her that Jayne had bitten more hands that fed him so if he got kicked, he deserved it. Kaylee didn't agree with him but kept it to herself. Now, she wondered if she should have spoken more on behalf of Jayne.

Voices drew her attention back to the bay doors and she dropped down off the crates to act as the greeting committee. Zoe was still slightly shy of being around people and everyone respected that. The Captain gave her a smile when he came aboard that was always a good sign.

"Engine in order, little Kaylee?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good, we'll be leaving as soon as we get clearance."

Kaylee's smile faltered somewhat. "Can't we go planetside, Cap? It's a core planet-"

"We got what we came for and now we're leaving. Maybe next time."

Kaylee huffed. "Always next time." She turned and saw Simon and River walking up the gang plank with a new face between them. She wasn't dressed fancy, not like how Kaylee imagined the head surgeon on Osiris to look. She was wearing standard pants and an oversized tunic and boots. She had short curly black hair that looked strangely odd with her almost white complexion. She was pretty but no where near as glamorous as Kaylee expected.

"And this," Simon was saying, "is Kaylee."

Phoenix gave her a warm smile and extended her hand. "Phoenix. It's very nice to meet you."

"Oh, I don't wanna get engine grease on ya."

"A little dirt never hurt anyone," she said, her hand still extended.

Kaylee wiped her hands on her coveralls and shook the new comer's hand. She liked this woman. She didn't scream "doctor" like Simon had and Kaylee was in need of another female friend. Inara had been thinking over whether to continue in her profession and Zoe was still entrenched in grief. River was always there but there were things Kaylee didn't want to talk with her about just yet. Besides, everyone has a story, even if they can't remember it, it's still there.


	3. Chapter 3

Standard Disclaimer: I don't own Firefly and I'm not making any money off this story. So please, don't sue. You won't get anything.

**Fix You**

**Chapter Three**

Jayne sat in his bunk until it was time for dinner. He had felt bad over not indulging Kaylee in her conversation concerning the new doc but he had other things on his mind. He was finding it harder to be around Kaylee lately. She reminded him so much of his youngest sister, June, who was just a few years younger than the mechanic. Matty's health was weighing so heavily on his mind any reminder of his family brought him a terrible sense of uncomfortableness.

He had to go home. That was the conclusion he had come to sitting there for close to two hours. But how to get there was problem. He couldn't just ask Mal if they could swing by his home planet so he could visit his ailing brother. There would be no gain for the crew except wasting fuel. The only other way to get to his home was to ask Inara for use of her shuttle when they came into range. He quickly scratched that off his list figuring she wouldn't just trust him and her alone in a shuttle. That, and she made him slightly uncomfortable will all her fine clothes and manners.

That only left one more option: steal the extra shuttle. But that also brought up another problem. If he stole a shuttle off Serenity, his career as the ship's muscle was as good as gone. If he lost this job, there went the credits he was forwarding to his family for Matty's medical bills. He would have to find another crew to fly with and that left a bitter taste in his mouth. These people had come to be a second family of sorts. Miranda and the ensuing fight had made sure of solidifying those bonds. But they were still only the second family.

Women's laughter filtered down into his bunk as a group of three passed in front of his door. He couldn't make out any of the words and it really didn't matter. They were headed into the mess for dinner from the sounds of it. He had better gather his wits and head up there. If he wasn't one of the first at the table, they would get suspicious. He had been choking down the last few weeks worth of meals, what was one more?

* * *

"So he said to me, 'You're the doctor, you tell me how it got there!'" 

Laughter erupted around the table and Jayne gave his best laugh as well. He hadn't really been listening to the new doc's story but he was never one to pass up laughing at a good joke. And judging from the laughs, it was a good one. Even Zoe was laughing, which was a welcome sight.

"Well," Kaylee wiped tears from her eyes, "Simon said he once reattached a girl's leg."

"I remember that," Phoenix replied. "She named her cat after you."

"Hamster, actually," Simon corrected.

"So, what was your extraordinary life saving story?" Kaylee asked.

The doc leaned back in her chair and thought for a moment. "Well, I guess my favorite story was saving a young boy brought in from one of the outer planets. This entire town saved up their money and paid for the mother and her son to come to Osiris for treatment. His recovery was very easy; all the planet lacked was the advanced medicinal treatment that was just put out on the market. But it stuck out in my mind because it reminded me that there was still good in people."

"Weren't there good people on Osiris?" Mal asked.

Phoenix shrugged. "Most of the people that lived on Osiris were so caught up with themselves they forgot that there were other people in the 'verse."

"It's true," Simon spoke up. "You'll find mostly senators, soldiers or other governmental officials on Osiris. If you're not involved in those careers then you're most likely a student."

"Getting pumped full of Alliance propaganda," Phoenix added.

"Whadda know?" Zoe said, turning towards Mal. "A girl after our own hearts."

Phoenix smirked. "I was constantly getting into disagreements with my professors because I wanted the right to state my opinion."

"That always seemed to contradict theirs," Simon pointed out.

Phoenix shrugged. "I had my own thoughts on things."

"Gao yang jong duh goo yang. Did you have thoughts."

"Simon," Phoenix dropped her fork, "you're a boob."

"That's where River get's it from."

River giggled. "Took you long enough to remember that."

"Well, as entertaining as all this is, I believe Phoenix, Kaylee and I all have some work to do," Inara said, rising from her spot at the table.

Jayne's ears perked up at the statement. "What kind of work?"

The new doc actually turned to look at him. Her eyes were pale green, so pale they didn't even look like they were colored. "The kind of work that wouldn't interest you, I'm afraid."

Jayne felt some of his old self coming up to the surface. "I don't know about that. I kinda like hearing about Inara's work."

"Alright," Phoenix nodded her head. "Why don't you come with us then? Maybe we'll dye your hair too."

His smirk faded. "Maybe next time."

She winked at him. "I'll hold you to that."

He watched Inara, Kaylee and Phoenix head off to Inara's shuttle. The stories she had been telling spoke of great medical knowledge. If he was hearing right, she was even smarter than the doc. He had heard Mal tell Zoe that they were still a day's travel to Beaumonde which meant they were within spitting distance of his homeworld, New London. If he was going to leave, it would be tonight.

The women's laughter echoed through the cargo bay and traveled back to the mess hall. Yeah, he would have to leave tonight, but he wasn't going to leave empty handed.

* * *

"How's that?" 

Phoenix looked in the mirror that Inara was holding for her. She couldn't believe that the color stripping the Companion had used actually worked. There was no trace of the black dye anywhere on her hair. The almost white-blonde curls were back to normal, despite the shorter length. "It looks perfect."

"Can't believe your hair is that light," Kaylee said. "It's almost white."

"I know," Phoenix grinned. "When I was a first year med student, just for the fun of it, I borrowed a lab coat and made rounds in the hospital. No one said anything. They thought I was a full fledged doctor because of the hair color."

"Well, I have to get back to the engine. Captain won't be too happy if something breaks and I'm here." Kaylee waved her goodbye and left.

"I really appreciate this, Inara."

"It was no trouble. I had some on hand because I had a ball to go to last year where I changed my hair color to match my dress. It was a masquerade so it only added to the mystery."

"I used to hate big parties. All those people watching you, waiting for you to make a mistake."

"I still worry about that."

Phoenix and Inara shared a smile before Phoenix stood up. "I better head back to my bunk. Simon wanted to show me around the Infirmary anyway."

"You're welcome here anytime."

"Thank you." Phoenix gave her one last smile and nod before stepping out of the shuttle. No sooner did the doors close behind her and she turned the corner did she come face to face with Jayne. She went to greet him when she saw the gun in his hand.

"Now," he whispered, "We're gonna be real quiet about this."

* * *

Gao yang jong duh goo yang: Motherless goat of all motherless goats. 


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own Firefly, Joss Whedon does. I'm not making money off this, just a whole lot of fun. ;-)

**Fix You**

**Chapter Four**

"If this is about the comment I made during dinner-"

"Shut it!"

Phoenix's mouth snapped shut. She had been introduced to the ship's merc but he hadn't been very sociable. She guessed you didn't have to be blessed with communication skills for the job he did.

"You're gonna go with me," he glanced around nervously, "and you're gonna need some meds."

"For me?"

He gave her a look as if he was trying to determine if she was being smart or serious with him. He must have decided she was being serious. "Naw. For a kid with damp lung."

"Damp lung?"

He nodded.

"Can you be more specific? Damp lung can be anything from pneumonia to tuberculosis."

Confusion clouded his face. "All the doc's have been callin' it damp lung."

"Alright," Phoenix tried to make a placating motion with her hands, "I'm suppose to meet Simon in the Infirmary. He wanted to show me where everything is. I need to get medical supplies anyway and I won't know where they are unless he shows me."

"You're really gonna help?"

"Well, you're being very persuasive," Phoenix motioned to the gun.

He nodded in agreement, almost as if he had forgotten the gun in his hand. "We don't got a lot of time."

"We're going to have even less if I don't get to the Infirmary."

He seemed to take that into consideration. "Fine. But make it quick. And remember, I'll be watching you. I'll know if you tip off the doc, got it?"

"Of course."

He moved aside and allowed her to pass. She heard his footfalls, which were surprisingly quiet for a man his size. He was more than head and shoulders above her and weighed twice as much. There was no way to out muscle him. She thought about outsmarting him but realized what he was doing was to help someone who couldn't get medical attention.

By the time she reached the Infirmary, he was no where to be seen. He said he would be able to see her in the Infirmary and she believed him. This was most likely used as a smuggling ship (she had heard most Firefly ships were) so he probably had his choice of hidey-holes to watch her from.

"Much better," Simone greeted. "Now you look like the know-it-all I remember."

"You always did know what to say to a girl." She had to admit, it was good to see him again. He was an excellent doctor, steady-handed and kind-hearted. She had graduated number one in her class but never had the grace that Simon seemed to have with his patients. She was smart but he was gifted.

"Well, I'm sure you're tired so I'll be brief," Simon stated. He showed her where the basics were kept: the weaves, anti-virals and the various vaccines for the different planets with terraforming problems. Next came all the instruments and bandages. It may have been a small infirmary but it was extremely well stocked.

"And that's pretty much everything."

Phoenix nodded. "Very self explanatory."

"You'll see the most common wound is a gun shot. Be prepared for bullet digging."

"They get shot a lot?"

"Pretty much every time they leave the ship."

"I just have one question."

"Of course."

She knew Jayne could see her but wasn't sure if he could hear her. She hoped not. "Are they good people?"

Simon smiled slightly but answered with confidence. "Yes, they are."

"That's all I wanted to know."

Simon headed towards the door but stopped and turned back to her. "It's good to see you again."

"So you've said."

"I mean it."

She didn't know why that simple sentiment meant so much. She could barely swallow down the lump in her throat to get out a "Thank you."

As soon as he was out of sight and she composed herself again, Jayne was standing in the doorway. His gun was still in his hand but no longer pointed in her direction.

"Let's go."

"Just let me get some meds together. But while I do that, why don't you tell me more about the patient."

He grabbed the only seat which was a wheeled stool and put in directly in front of the door before sitting. "Whadda ya need to know?"

"How old is the patient? How long has he or she had the symptoms? Anything really." She didn't want to take medications from the crew if she didn't need to.

"Well, his name is Matty. He's," he stared up at the ceiling and ticked off numbers on his fingers. "Sixteen now. He's been sick for seven years."

Phoenix grabbed some immune boosters, anti-virals and a decongestant. Seven years of this illness was going to be hard to beat. She had basic medical equipment in the kit she had brought with her. Some of the meds were more up to date than what was stocked on the shelves.

"Alright," she said after zipping up a padded case with the vials and syringes, "Let me just grab some clothes and my own med kit and we'll leave."

He seemed annoyed but didn't say anything. He shoved the stool and it slid across the floor back to it's original position under the counter. His precision was frightening. Phoenix opted from saying anything else and headed towards her cabin. She knew she was trying his patience now and did her best to be quick. She snatched up her med bag, threw a handful of shirts and a couple pairs of pants into a shoulder bag. She dropped her encyclopedia on top just in case she would need to research the boy's symptoms at all. She doubted it, having memorized all the med books she studied. But it was her security blanket of sorts.

When he saw she had three bags slung over her shoulder, he motioned with the gun which direction he wanted her to take. She stepped out in front of him and followed his whispered directions. At first she thought he was headed back towards Inara's shuttle but instead of turning left, he wanted her to turn right. She hadn't even realized there was a second shuttle. He hurried her inside and quickly sealed the door. When the lights came on, he pointed towards a passenger seat.

"Do I have to tie ya up?"

She dropped the bags in a vacant seat. "No, I'll behave myself."

He grunted positively and she strapped herself into the chair. He slid into the pilot's seat and started switching on the engines and preliminary warm ups. Phoenix wondered if the rest of the crew knew he was capable of flying a shuttle. From the limited interactions she had seen between him and the crew, she had gotten the impression they thought he was all muscle and no brains. Which did bring a question to mind.

"Uh, Jayne?"

"What?"

"We can't just take off mid-flight, can we?"

"Nope."

"Then this is about to get interesting."

"Yup."

Before she could say anything else, _Serenity_ lurched to a complete stop. The lights inside the cabin flickered before staying on. Jayne didn't waste a second in getting the bay door to open and soon they were staring at the vast expanse of space. Seeing the stars this up close always unnerved her. The shuttle lifted easily off it's dock and soon they were air born.

"What did you do?" Phoenix asked.

"Set a timer to knock out the functions temporarily when the engines in this shuttle were activated."

"I'm impressed."

He turned and gave her an undecided look between disbelief and suspicion. "The power will only be knocked out for an hour before everything will start up again."

"Where did you learn how to do that?"

He snorted. "It was a common merc trick. Bosses tend to get the short end of a deal and his men get cranky. It was common on those boats to shut everything down, abandon ship with the loot, and move on. This one was harder though."

"Why so?"

"Had to figure out the gorram timer. Other times I just cut and run."

Phoenix smiled slightly. Simon was right, they were good people, even if it was in their own twisted ways. For a merc to make sure he got away but the rest of his crew would be fine was a very rare case. In a strange sense, it kind of put her at ease. If he was willing to go through what he did for the crew then he wasn't heartless. At least not totally.

"Where are we going?"

"New London."

Phoenix had heard of it. It was a fully industrialized moon that circled Hera if she remembered correctly. Machinery, ships, ground transports, anything and everything that had to be made was produced in New London. It wasn't as fancy or clean as the Core planets but it wasn't as desolate or untamed as the outer ones. It was somewhere in between.

"Does Matty and his family happen to live in a highly industrialized part of New London?"

"We used to but after he got sick we moved."

"The pollution in the air-" Phoenix stopped abruptly. "What a minute, did you say 'we'?"

He sighed heavily. "Yeah, I did. Matty's my brother."

"Oh."

He growled in frustration and kicked the co pilot's chair so it swiveled towards her direction. "Get up here. Sick of turning around to talk to ya."

Phoenix unclasp her belt and moved to the offered chair, turning it back around so she faced the window. She really hated flying through space in these small shuttles. She liked something more bulky underneath her. The Firefly's were great, even if they were on the small side.

"How many other siblings do you have?" she asked him.

"Seven."

"Seven? You have seven brothers and sisters?"

"How many you got?"

"None."

"Figures," he grumbled.

"What figures?"

"Rich folk can have as many critters as they want and they only end up having one or two while folks who can't afford a lot are waist deep in 'em."

Phoenix watched the speck in the distance slowly turn into the moon they were headed for. "Doctors told my mother she couldn't have kids."

"She had you, didn't she?"

"Yes, but it almost killed her." Phoenix turned and fixed Jayne with a hard stare. "Not all rich folks take things granted."

He look appropriately abashed and mumbled something that might have passed for an apology. Phoenix relaxed her tense muscles and leaned back in the chair. "So, what are their names?"

"Whose?"

She rolled her eyes. "Your siblings."

"Oh, uh, well, there's Susan, she's the oldest. She's been married and has three kids now. After her, there's Andy, she's a mechanic for one of the ship builders. Then there's me and my twin sister, Georgia, she's a teacher at the local school. Sam's going to be a welder, he's my Pa's apprentice right now. June's a receptionist for one of the companies and then there's Matty."

"Your Mom still alive?"

Jayne nodded his head. "Yup."

Phoenix smiled wistfully. "I always wondered what it would be like to have a large family."

"Well," Jayne sighed heavily, "You're about to find out."


End file.
